Compare Insights and Piwik PRO on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.
Both listed as alternatives to: Google Analytics, Matomo
Austria· Web Analytics
Needs review
Shortlist when you need cookie-free hosted analytics with first-class custom events for SPAs from an Austrian operator. Skip when you need self-host, public ISO/SOC packs, or infrastructure without Google Firebase—consider Plausible Analytics, Simple Analytics, or Pirsch Analytics instead (or self-hosted Matomo).
Poland· Web Analytics
Needs review
Shortlist Piwik PRO when you need a managed European analytics controller with integrated consent, tagging, and real-time data activation—and you can accept cloud residency on Azure and/or Elastx. Skip when you require open-source self-hosting (consider Matomo or Friendly Analytics) or only need a minimal cookieless counter (Plausible, Simple Analytics).
Highlighted rows differ between the two products.
| Feature | Insights | Piwik PRO |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Austria | Poland |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Self-hosted | No | No |
| Headquarters | Austria | Poland |
| Legal entity | Unsourced Digital OG | Piwik PRO SA (Wrocław); affiliates Piwik PRO LLC (New York), Piwik PRO GmbH (Berlin) |
| US parent / control | No known US parent | No known US parent |
| CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Medium | Medium |
| Hosting / residency | Operator: Unsourced Digital OG (Austria). Vendor-documented infrastructure includes Google Firebase—Cloud Functions, Firebase Authentication (customer accounts), and Firebase Hosting—with temporary IP handling described for those Google services. Visitor analytics designed without cookies and without IP storage in DB/logs; still a US-group cloud path for processing/hosting/auth. | Customer-selectable regions: Microsoft Azure public cloud (US, Netherlands, Germany, Hong Kong) and Elastx (Sweden, EU-operated). Enterprise private cloud: 60+ Azure regions plus Elastx. Business plan marketing highlights Swedish EU-operated hosting. No classic customer self-host. |
| Summary | Austrian privacy-first hosted web analytics: page views and custom events without cookies or stored visitor IPs, with an MIT open-source JS client (backend uses Google Firebase). | Polish privacy-first analytics suite combining web and mobile analytics, tag management, consent management, and real-time data activation for regulated teams. |
| Tags |
| At a glance | Insights | Piwik PRO |
|---|---|---|
| HQ / law | Austria (Unsourced Digital OG; Austrian governing law) | Not listed |
| Product type | Hosted privacy web analytics + custom events | Commercial analytics suite (SaaS / private cloud) |
| Client license | MIT (insights-js); backend proprietary | Not listed |
| Self-host | No public self-host option | No classic on-prem; public or private cloud only |
| Commercial model | Free low-volume tier; paid by monthly event/pageview volume | Business subscription + trial; Enterprise custom |
| Known infra | Google Firebase (Functions, Auth, Hosting) per vendor docs | Not listed |
| HQ | Not listed | Wrocław, Poland (Piwik PRO SA) |
| Open source | Not listed | No (closed source since split from Matomo lineage) |
| Hosting (public) | Not listed | Azure US/NL/DE/HK; Elastx Sweden |
| Modules | Not listed | Analytics, Tag Manager, Consent Manager, Data Activation |
| Key capabilities | Insights | Piwik PRO |
|---|---|---|
| Cookie-free tracking | Yes | Not listed |
| Custom events | Yes | Not listed |
| MIT client (insights-js) | Yes | Not listed |
| Austrian entity | Yes | Not listed |
| Hosted SaaS | Yes | Not listed |
| Firebase data path | Yes | Not listed |
| EU HQ (Poland) | Not listed | Yes |
| Analytics + tags + consent | Not listed | Yes |
| Data activation | Not listed | Yes |
| EU hosting options | Not listed | Yes |
| ISO 27001 / SOC 2 (claimed) | Not listed | Yes |
| HIPAA BAA (Enterprise) | Not listed | Yes |
Cookie-free page views and user flows
Tracks bounce rate, referrers, visits, and user-flow style page statistics without setting analytics cookies, so sites can avoid cookie banners driven solely by analytics. Script init plus trackPages() is the usual path for SPAs.
Custom and cancelable event tracking
insights-js supports named events with string parameters, unique-per-session flags, parameter-only updates, and remove/cancel for long-lived events (e.g. subscribe then unsubscribe). Built for product and funnel metrics, not pageviews only.
MIT open-source TypeScript client
The browser/npm client (insights-js) is MIT-licensed on GitHub with TypeScript types and helpers for locale, screen type, path, referrer, and duration buckets. Supports React, Angular, Vue, UMD script, and multi-project App instances. Backend remains proprietary SaaS.
Visitor anonymization pipeline (vendor-described)
Vendor docs: IPs hashed only in RAM for fraud checks (not stored in DB or logs); user agents reduced to browser/OS; optional screen sizes rounded to 50px; Do Not Track honoured. Confirm fit with your DPO—anonymous design is not a legal certification.
Developer-oriented integration
One-minute script install or npm package; docs cover multi-project tracking, ignoreErrors/disabled flags for production environments, and hash/search options on page paths. Lightweight client positioned against heavier GA-style tags.
ClickHouse-backed web & mobile analytics
Session-level web and app analytics with custom reports, funnels, user flows, multi-channel attribution, and calculated metrics. Vendor positions unsampled collection by default with optional sampling for extreme volumes, plus raw export via API, files, and BigQuery—aimed at teams that outgrew pre-aggregated MySQL-style tools.
Anonymous tracking when cookies are declined
Collect privacy-safe behavioral signals without identifiers when visitors refuse cookies or when you configure limited measurement modes. Marketing can still see channels and journeys; personal identifiers and full attribution wait for a valid lawful basis—useful under GDPR/ePrivacy friction.
Integrated Consent Manager and Tag Manager
Capture and store consent, drive tag firing from preferences, and handle visitor data requests in-product. Optional Cookie Information CMP and server-side tagging paths reduce the usual glue code between a separate CMP, GTM, and analytics.
Data Activation for real-time personalization
Segment audiences from live behavior and trigger on-site or outbound actions without exporting every event to a second CDP first. Suited to regulated marketers who want activation on first-party data they control.
Selectable cloud residency (Azure + Elastx)
Public cloud regions include Azure US, NL, DE, and HK plus Elastx Sweden; Enterprise private cloud spans 60+ Azure regions and Elastx. Business plan marketing highlights EU-operated Swedish hosting—pick region in procurement, not after go-live.
Regulated-industry packaging (GDPR tooling, HIPAA BAA path)
DPA available on Business signup; Enterprise adds private cloud, higher action volumes, SLAs, and HIPAA Business Associate Agreements for healthcare marketing analytics. Vendor also claims ISO 27001 and SOC 2—request current certificates in diligence.
| Assurance & compliance | Insights | Piwik PRO |
|---|---|---|
| Independent security / no-logs audit | Not found Vendor describes no IP storage in DB/logs and RAM-only hashing; no public third-party audit PDF found. | Partial Vendor states regular external security audits and SOC 2/ISO programs; no public third-party no-logs-style audit PDF reviewed for this draft. Request reports under NDA. |
| ISO 27001 | Not found No public certificate on getinsights.io at research time. | Vendor claimed Asserted on privacy-security and platform pages; certificate not independently re-verified against a public registry for this entry. |
| SOC 2 / SOC 3 | Not found No public SOC report found. | Vendor claimed Vendor claims SOC 2 (comparison content references type II) and SOC 2-certified infrastructure; obtain current report in diligence. |
| GDPR / EU data protection | Vendor claimed Austrian entity; privacy policy and data-collection docs; cookie-free/no-stored-IP design for visitors. Firebase/Google processing still requires transfer/DPA diligence. | Vendor claimed EU legal entity, residency options, consent tooling, anonymization, and DPA. Compliance depends on customer configuration and purposes. |
| US CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Partial EU entity / no known US parent, but Google Firebase (US-group) used for Cloud Functions, Auth, and Hosting per vendor data page. Indicative medium exposure. Not legal advice. | Partial No known US parent (Polish SA). Medium exposure due to Microsoft Azure as public/private cloud subprocessor and optional US region; Elastx Sweden is EU-operated alternative. Not legal advice. |
| Data processing agreement (B2B) | Not found No standalone public DPA page found; request from contact@getinsights.io for B2B use. | Vendor claimed Business DPA linked from Business plan signup (piwik.pro/business-dpa/); Enterprise contracts expand terms. |
| EU AI Act | Not applicable Web analytics product, not an AI system product page. | Not applicable Analytics/activation platform; not marketed as an AI system provider. Customer AI use of exported data is out of product scope. |
| HIPAA / BAA | Not listed | Vendor claimed HIPAA-oriented offering with BAA on Enterprise path per vendor; not available on all plan tiers. |
| Considerations & known limitations | Insights | Piwik PRO |
|---|---|---|
| Google Firebase on critical path | High Vendor documents Firebase Cloud Functions, Auth, and Hosting. Anonymous visitor design does not remove US-group cloud dependency for hosting/auth/processing—material for sovereignty-sensitive buyers. | Not listed |
| No public independent audit or certs | Medium No ISO 27001, SOC 2, or third-party no-logs audit found on the public site. Rely on vendor claims plus your own review of the open client. | Not listed |
| Client open source only; no self-host | Medium insights-js is MIT; dashboard/backend are closed SaaS. You cannot run the full product on your infrastructure. | Not listed |
| Small team / continuity | Medium Product presented as built by two freelance developers under Unsourced Digital OG. Assess vendor longevity and support SLAs for business-critical analytics. | Not listed |
| Bounce/unique metrics need SPA routing | Low Client docs: trackPages bounce and unique views expect a client-side router and do not use cookies/localStorage; multi-page full reloads can skew metrics. | Not listed |
| US-group cloud (Azure) in hosting path | Not listed | Medium Even with EU region selection, Azure introduces US-group infrastructure risk. Pin region, review SCCs/subprocessors, and escalate if policy forbids US cloud groups entirely. |
| Closed source and no classic self-host | Not listed | Medium Cannot independently audit full source or run fully air-gapped on customer iron. Private cloud still involves vendor-managed stack on Azure/Elastx. |
| Certifications not independently verified here | Not listed | Low ISO 27001, SOC 2, and HIPAA are vendor-claimed. Request certificates/reports and BAA text before treating them as assured. |
| Paid plans only after Core sunset | Not listed | Low Free Core has been discontinued; evaluation relies on trials and paid Business/Enterprise metering by actions/domains. |
| Compliance depends on configuration | Not listed | Medium Anonymous modes and CNIL exemption require correct setup and purpose limitation. Misconfiguration can recreate the same legal exposure teams left GA to avoid. |
When: You want simple hosted EU privacy page analytics with a strong Plausible-style product footprint
Consider: Plausible Analytics
Compare event depth: Insights markets custom events as a core differentiator vs simpler page-focused tools.
When: You want cookie-free analytics with an explicit privacy brand and different commercial packaging
Consider: Simple Analytics
Verify each vendor's hosting and subprocessor pages side by side.
When: You prefer a German peer privacy analytics product
Consider: Pirsch Analytics
Compare event features, regions, and legal docs for your DPA process.
When: You need full control of the stack or on-prem processing
Consider: Self-hosted Matomo (or similar open analytics)
Higher ops cost; no dependency on Insights SaaS or Firebase.
When: You need open-source code and true on-premises control
Consider: Matomo (self-host) or Friendly Analytics / Matomo by Stackhero for managed Matomo
Piwik PRO is proprietary cloud/private-cloud only.
When: You want minimal, cookieless EU analytics without enterprise suite complexity
Consider: Plausible Analytics or Simple Analytics
Far smaller feature surface; no HIPAA/CDP-style activation packaging.
When: You need a German enterprise analytics vendor with long public-sector presence
Consider: etracker
Different product depth and packaging—compare consent tooling and activation needs.